By Assunta Ng
Click to see Dragon Fest 2011 pictorial.
The right name: Dragon Fest!
Wow! What a breath of fresh air. The winning name connotes fun, suspense, and mystery. It’s short, and people can relate to the ID, Chinatown, and the Asian community without playing a guessing game.
The old festival’s name was long and cumbersome. Who would remember ID Chinatown Summer Street Fair? In the past, crowds would lock to the festival on Saturday, and then interest died on Sunday.
This year, King Street South was packed on both days and the sunny weather was on our side. This has to be a record-breaking year for attendance.
Did the vendors make money?
“I definitely will come back next year,“ said Toni Yuly, an artist who was selling her Asian design T-shirts and cards. She was happy with the earnings from her booth. And the booth rent was only $60 for two days.
Juliana Lai of Liana Cafe said business was great, although she did not have a booth.
Just placing some food samples, from cookies to chicken, outside her restaurant, brought in customers all day long.
For those who did not do well, here is advice from a Boeing executive, “We can’t just go on making planes; we have to make planes that the customers want to buy.”
So don’t give up yet. Make this year part of your learning process.
Do some research and find out what customers want to buy or eat. Position your product to be different from others.
What is important is that Dragon Fest can create huge traffic and marketing potential.
Next year, come back and capture your share of the pie.
Better layout
Introducing new elements is the key to success for any event. You cannot do the same thing every year.People just get bored. This year, the festival had a completely new layout for the stage and the booths. It looked more open and bigger than the past design. Crowds needed space to walk, greet friends, and browse around.
The usual popular McDonald’s booth is in a better spot for the line of people on the sidewalk (and not in the middle of the street as in the past festivals).
The patio chairs and tables on the street made the whole fest design innovative. At least there were seats where folks with kids could sit down if they didn’t want to watch the show.
Family-friendly booths
It’s not just McDonald’s who stole the show. The City of Seattle’s Eco Village booth was another million-dollar idea. Mini ping-pong tables were displayed for kids to play.
Children learned how to use resources and protect the environment with the activities inside the booth. Tell your friends to bring their kids next year, and you will be surprised how much fun they’ll have!
So what did the community do right this year? ♦